Experience report Bergen Fall 2017 I- General information about the school NHH is a very small university/school compared to Tilburg University. I guess that there are around 3000 students there and the lectures are given in small classrooms where you feel that there is a lot of personal attention. When you meet you professor outside the classroom he/she usually recognizes you, and you speak to them using their first name. The school itself is located at the water and in summer you can enjoy your lunch with an amazing view over the fjord in front of the school. The university is around 10 min from the city center and it s very easy to get in the center. Campus is really small, since there are only 3000 students studying there. And with the Norwegian prices it s not recommend to eat at campus. The best place to do sports was for me at Sammen. This is the student association in Bergen and arranges everything from housing to sports and dinners. Sammen provides 7 fitness areas in Bergen and gives you access to spinning rooms, a pool and a climbing area. One of these fitness centers is located on campus. Regarding sports there are 7 mountains surrounding Bergen and all very fun to hike and climb. These are all easily accessible by bus. Take in mind that Bergen is one of the rainiest cities in Europe and therefor a good jacket is highly advisable. Study structure is related to the one in Tilburg, you just follow regular lectures and study for the exam (Only true if you actually do this in Tilburg). The exams are open questions in contradiction to Tilburg. Bergen has a lot to offer. Going out is a fun, however I experienced that the big group of students living in Hatleberg end up going to the same places every week. I found that calibar was a fun bar to go out with a lot of international students. You can go out for a nice beer and if you like museums this is the place to be (I actually only went there with student excursions). II- Practical information Information before leaving The information provided is overall easy to follow and a lot of the information is brought to you using Facebook. If you go to Bergen you become part of a Facebook group and all the information + reminders you need are in there. For me the only difficulty was the fact that parts of your learning environment (like Blackboard) are in Norwegian, which can make it hard to understand. In those cases, google translate is your best friend. Visa procedure and arrival For your stay in Bergen you need a residence permit which is comparable with a visa. To obtain this you must go to the police station, but all your appointment dates will be arranged by NHH. It is actually very easy to obtain this permit. The only thing you have to bring is prove of sufficient funding, your ID, your health insurance card and your letter of acceptance to NHH. The prove of sufficient funding is actually only a formal thing and if you bring your acceptance letter the police knows you have sufficient funding.
Arrival for me was really simple. There are flybussen to the city center for 100 NOK and those bring you to the place where (if you live in Hatleberg) you can pick up your key. Flybussen is a company which basically provide shuttle busses between the city and the airport. Another way to get into the city is taking the bybanen. This takes a little longer but is cheaper and is basically a tram that takes you to the center. Housing I lived in a house 10 minutes away from NHH which for me was really nice since I had my own room. I found this house via the Facebook group of all exchange students coming the Bergen but housinganywhere.com helps you to find some private rooms and students rooms as well. If you go to Bergen on exchange you will certainly get housing provided by the student association Sammen. You have a high chance of getting a room in Hatleberg which is a big student complex next to NHH. Usually this is a shared room but from what I heard of my fellow students this is actually really nice. Living in Hatleberg is a great opportunity to make new friends and all the parties start here. Living costs This is the most annoying heading of this experience report. Norway is expensive. Make sure you prepare for this in a decent way. I spend most of my money on trips to experience Norway to the fullest. Plane tickets are relatively cheap but general goods like food and drinks are expensive. To give an example, a six-pack of beer costs around 17 euros and going to a good hairdresser costs around 60 euros with the current exchange rate (this is 1 euro=9,5 NOK) To give an example of my monthly budget: - Housing: 370 (take in mind that if you want a single room the price will be around 500 since I had a very small room) - Food: 450-500 - Transport: 50 - Trips: 200 - Going out: 80-100 Transport is a monthly ticket you can buy in the app of the bus company and gives you unlimited transport for the duration of the tickets. Books is something I didn t buy and didn t need. However, if you feel like buying books prices are the same as in Tilburg. Make sure to do some trips here since Norway has a lot to offer. Lofoten islands and Tromsø are nice to go to and of course you can t miss Oslo whilst you re in Bergen. Important: Make sure you have a creditcard since you need this one for booking trips, buying the bus tickets and renting cars.
Academic Calendar For me the academic year started on August 21 after the introduction week which started the 14 th. Introduction week was an informative and fun week where you got to know your fellow students and made your first friends. Take in mind that this week is mandatory! My academic semester in Bergen ended on the 24 th of November giving me the chance to travel around in Norway. There is now mid-term break and there are no mid-terms at all. Examination period starts half November and ends in December, depending on the courses you chose. Info and promotion The international office of NHH is really nice and you will definitely meet Nørunn, the incoming exchange coordinator of NHH. If you have any questions this is the place to go and the answer is usually quick. I did not visit the international office and all my contact with the office was via e-mail. I did meet Nørunn and she is a very nice mom figure here at NHH (that is her nickname as well). There was no promotion about exchange during my visit, which probably has to do with the fact that all Norwegian students go on exchange in the spring semester. Social activities, culture and language If you like to party Norway is actually a good destination, there are a lot of bars and clubs here in Bergen and when drunk everybody is easy to talk to. Every party starts at Hatleberg and takes you to the city where your evening will end in either Macdonalds or Burgerking. What was really striking is that exchange students stick together and Norwegians do the same, only with big parties these two groups combine. My explanation for this is the fact that there is a cultural difference in going out. Norwegians start their parties really early (6 pm is not uncommon) and therefor are drunk really early. Did I experience a big culture shock? I don t think so since Norway is a very modern western culture and therefore not very different from the Dutch culture. People are very active here and the overall health is higher than in the Netherlands, you barely see people smoking. I followed the course Norwegian for beginners here which helped me understand the Norwegian culture and language a little better. Personal development What you really learn from going on an exchange is how to deal with different ways of thinking. You meet a lot of international students, make friends but also deal with different mentalities in work and social situations. This is something you can only learn by doing and going on an exchange will really help you develop these social skills. If I would have to go here again I think I would go for a shared room in Hatleberg since this makes the social contacts a lot easier and more accessible. What I will never forget about my exchange is the fact that I learned to build on myself. Sometimes there isn t anybody around to help you push yourself and the only one to help you develop is yourself.
III- Academic information Academic level at host university Compared to the Netherlands I would say the academic level is lower here at NHH. Just a little bit though so do not expect you can just sit here and do nothing, there are assignments you have to make and these can take up quite some time. Of course, this is dependent on the courses you choose. At NHH there are course taught in English and Norwegian, where a lot of Norwegian students only follow courses in Norwegian. I followed the course Norwegian for Beginners and this course was almost fully in basic Norwegian, Dutch and German students have it easy in these courses since the grammar and words of the languages are alike. With the high wealth due to natural resources and offshore activity of Norway, I can highly recommend following courses related to these subjects. I followed the course: Economics of resource rich countries, which give me a good overall understanding on how countries can benefit from natural resources but also how natural resources can hamper economic growth. I think this gave me a good overall understanding on why there are different economies around the world. I also followed Maritime history and economics. This course was a fun one with a great professor and even though I normally don t like going to lectures this professor really got my attention and was able to make me interested in the course. The course gives you a good overall understanding of the shipping industry and why certain things happen in the way they do. Both courses I can highly recommend. The teaching style if practically focused with a lot of assignments to be done. Every course has at least one assignment during the semester and some of them aren t even graded but just mandatory for course approval. The level of these assignment isn t high but It can be a lot of work. With any questions it is very simple to go to the teacher and ask him/her questions and the relationship teacher-student is very informal and relaxed. In general I think the course I took were really an add-on to my bachelor program, however if you plan on following basic courses like accounting or finance then I don t think your curriculum will benefit from your exchange to NHH on an academic level. Exams As said before the exams at NHH are either take-home exams, open questions and oral exams. Oral exams are fairly easy to pass and the teacher will help you in the conversation, the only thing you have to do is have basic knowledge of the course. Open question exams are just like the ones in Tilburg, are they difficult? Well I think that is up to you to decide but I think that with basic knowledge of the course everybody should be able to pass an open-question exam. Some of the exams are on computers, in this case you have to bring your laptop to the exam and then type instead of write your exam. I did not have any take-home exams but these can be compared to writing an assignment/paper at home. The time you get for these exams can vary from 1 day to 5 days. Library and resources
NHH is really nice when it comes to resources. With your student card, you have access to campus 24/7 and there will always be a place to study for you. Library access is really simple and with your personal logging you can use the public computers and printers. Printing was free. In case of a computer exam you can borrow laptops from NHH for free, you just register with time and date and they will provide you with a laptop. Description of courses Course Prerequisites Exam ECTS Comments Norwegian for beginners (NOR10) None Oral exam 7.5 On top of program Maritime History and economics (SAM18) Organizational theory (SOL3) Firm strategy and competitions (SAM15) The economics of resource rich countries (SAM20) None Oral exam 7.5 Some assignments during the semester None Basic knowledge of micro economics None Written exam, open questions Written computer exam, open questions Written computer exam, open questions 7.5 Big assignments during semester 7.5 2 assignments during the semester 7.5 1 assignment and presentation during the semester Tips for future students After my exchange, I can only recommend it to others! It will help you develop social skills and will give you the chance to make friends all around the world! Going on exchange will help you develop personal skills and you really get to know yourself and learn to trust in yourself! Going to Norway was for met the ultimate exchange destination, I fell in love with the nature here and will definitely come back here! If you like sports and being outside this is the place to be for you! You can make an exam in the morning and in the evening you can watch the sunset on a snowy mountain. There are a few things to take in mind when coming to NHH, first of it being the fact that it rains here. A lot. Bring good raingear like a waterproof jacket and waterproof shoes. Hiking shoes are also something that really helps you around here since there is a lot of beautiful nature to discover. A second thing to consider is the fact that Norway is expensive. Make sure you have sufficient funding for your stay and spend the money wisely. Even though Norway is expensive this shouldn t be the reason to not go to Norway! The Norway experience is amazing and it offers amazing opportunities to discover nature and yourself!
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